McAlester's Christmas season now has two calendars running side by side. The City's tourism office runs McWinter Wonderland, which the city calls a five-year plan to make McAlester a Christmas town. The Railway District runs the downtown traditions, including the Cookie Tour and the lighted parade. In 2026 the two calendars meet on the same few blocks of Choctaw Avenue for the first time, because the city's program is adding its first big event that isn't in a park.
That event is the first Great McAlester Snowball Fight, on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. The rest of this post covers where the program came from, what's new this year, and what goes on the fridge calendar.
A tree festival that took three years to catch on
The Festival of Trees at Arvest Park is older than McWinter Wonderland. Tourism Manager Rebecca Kerns told the McAlester News-Capital that her office came up with the idea in September 2023 and held the first one that November. Fewer than 100 people showed up. The second year drew a bit more. In 2025 it drew more than 700 people to Arvest Park, with reindeer, Santa and free carriage rides added to the evening.
"Last year was beyond anything we could have expected," Kerns told the News-Capital.
The city put a bigger program around the festival in 2025. In its story on McWinter Wonderland's first year, the News-Capital described it as a five-year initiative. It added home and business decorating contests, and McAlester Tourism said it wanted to take the tree festival to other city parks and eventually have a tree lighting at every park.
So the plan was always to spread out from Arvest Park, and 2026 is the first year that's visible on the calendar.
"Festivals of Trees is really our cornerstone for McWinter Wonderland." Rebecca Kerns, McAlester tourism manager, to the McAlester News-Capital, October 2026
Year two still starts at Arvest Park, then heads downtown
The cornerstone is staying put. The 2026 Festival of Trees & Lights On is Tuesday, Nov. 24, from 6 to 8 p.m. at Arvest Park, at South 2nd Street and East Chickasaw Avenue. Travel McAlester bills it as the official start of McWinter Wonderland, with decorated trees, music and the lighting of the park. The News-Capital reports that Santa and the reindeer are guaranteed this year.
The trees are a contest, and businesses and organizations can still enter. Trees must be under eight feet tall and can't be professionally decorated, and they're due at Arvest Park on Nov. 20. Registration opened Oct. 19 through the city's online form. After the festival, Facebook voting for favorite trees runs through Dec. 18.
Four days later the program leaves the park. The Great McAlester Snowball Fight starts at 10 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 28, on Choctaw Avenue between Main Street and 2nd Street. Travel McAlester describes it as a family morning of "friendly snowball battles," meant to start a new holiday tradition and officially open McWinter Wonderland's Santa's Workshop zone.
Some details haven't been published yet. The listing doesn't say what the snow is made of, whether it costs anything, whether you need to register, or who's running the morning on the ground. It also doesn't say how big the Santa's Workshop zone is or what's in it beyond the kickoff. Those answers will probably show up on the McAlester Tourism Facebook page before the 28th. The 2025 decorating contests were announced there too.
As of this writing, the city hasn't said whether the home and business decorating contests are coming back for 2026, or how long the Arvest Park lights will stay up.
The Railway District already had those blocks
Downtown already had its holiday traditions before the Snowball Fight was scheduled. The Railway District, a project of the nonprofit My McAlester Inc., runs its own season. The first event is the Cookie Tour on Thursday, Nov. 12. You pick up a box and walk the district, collecting a cookie at each stop. The Railway District's site lists a 4 p.m. start, and Travel McAlester's calendar shows 4 to 7 p.m., so you can show up after work.
The big one is the Railway District Christmas Parade on Thursday, Dec. 10, at 6:30 p.m. This year's theme is "A Story Book Christmas." The route runs east on Carl Albert Parkway from A Street to 5th Street, then turns onto Choctaw Avenue toward Main Street. That means the parade ends on the same stretch where the Snowball Fight happens 12 days earlier.
One date note. One Travel McAlester event card shows the parade on Dec. 11. The Railway District's own page and Travel McAlester's main calendar both say Thursday, Dec. 10, and the organizer's page is the one to go by.
If you're entering a float, here are the details from the parade page:
- Deadline: Entries close Wednesday, Nov. 25, at 6 p.m. Late entries pay a $10 late fee and go to the back of the line.
- Fees: $100 for businesses and $25 for everyone else. Public schools, police and fire departments enter free.
- Paying by check: Make it out to The Railway District and drop it off at Yellow Gazebo, 109 E. Choctaw.
- Lineup: Check in at the Diamond Trophy & Engraving parking lot, 7 N. A Street. Lineup runs down A Street, and your number is painted on the concrete.
- Timing: Lineup times and numbers go out by email five days before the parade.
The full season, by organizer
Sorting the calendar by who runs each event shows how the season is shaped. The city's program covers the park and now part of downtown. The nonprofit covers the downtown streets. The Southeast Expo Center at 4500 US-270 holds the markets on Saturdays.
| Date | Event | Where | Run by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sat., Nov. 7, 9 a.m.–4 p.m. | Jinglebell Market | Southeast Expo Center & Motor Speedway | Not named on listing |
| Thu., Nov. 12, 4–7 p.m. | The Cookie Tour | Downtown McAlester | The Railway District |
| Sat., Nov. 21, 11 a.m.–3 p.m. | 4th Annual Holiday Market | Pittsburg County Farmers Market | Pittsburg County Farmers Market |
| Tue., Nov. 24, 6–8 p.m. | Festival of Trees & Lights On | Arvest Park | McAlester Tourism |
| Sat., Nov. 28, 10 a.m. | Great McAlester Snowball Fight | Choctaw Ave., Main to 2nd | McWinter Wonderland |
| Sat., Dec. 5, 10 a.m.–4 p.m. | Annual Toy Giveaway | Southeast Expo Center & Motor Speedway | J. Michael Miller Law Firm |
| Thu., Dec. 10, 6:30 p.m. | Railway District Christmas Parade | Carl Albert Pkwy. to Choctaw Ave. | The Railway District |
| Fri.–Sat., Dec. 11–12 | Winter Pull Classic truck and tractor pull | Southeast Expo Center & Motor Speedway | Not named on listing |
| Sat., Dec. 12, 9 a.m.–5 p.m. | Sleigh Bells Market | Southeast Expo Center & Motor Speedway | Not named on listing |
McAlester Theatre is also staging A Christmas Carol: The Musical at the S. Arch Thompson Auditorium on several dates. Check the Travel McAlester calendar for performance times.
How the Saturdays stack up
The Expo Center markets mostly book the Saturdays that the downtown and park events leave open. Jinglebell Market comes first, on Saturday, Nov. 7, with local vendors and food trucks. Two weeks later the Pittsburg County Farmers Market holds its fourth annual Holiday Market, with local crafters and bakers selling handmade holiday goods.
The Saturday after Thanksgiving belongs to downtown, with the Snowball Fight. On Dec. 5 the J. Michael Miller Law Firm hosts its annual toy giveaway at the Expo Center. Dec. 12 is the busiest Saturday of the season. Sleigh Bells Market runs from 9 to 5 with vendors selling vintage Christmas and holiday goods, and the Winter Pull Classic's second night starts that evening at the same grounds. Doors open at 6 p.m., and the pulling starts at 7.
The schedule also gives you a few easy pairings. The Cookie Tour and the parade are both Thursday evenings downtown, so you can do them after work. The Snowball Fight is the only downtown event on a Saturday morning, and it starts at 10 a.m. If you're entering both a tree and a float, the deadlines are five days apart. Trees are due Friday, Nov. 20, and parade entries close the evening of Wednesday, Nov. 25, the day before Thanksgiving.
Jeremy Grumbles lives and works in this part of Oklahoma and watches what towns like McAlester are building around their downtowns, from tree festivals in city parks to new holiday traditions on Choctaw Avenue. If you're thinking about property in Pittsburg County and want a straight answer on how a particular street or block fits into town life, Jeremy Grumbles is happy to walk you through it. Schedule your free consultation.
